More heads are likely to roll in the battle against corruption as Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syeed has given his final nod against the officials who are deemed corrupt, and considered deadwood by the government, KNS has learnt.
PDP-BJP government has already dismissed 63 officials on the charges of corruption.
Sources in the government told KNS that the high-level panel headed by the Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khanday which was constituted by the state government to examine the corruption cases against the tainted officers has submitted the second list of corrupt officials to Chief Minister Office in the last week of July.
Sources said that the CM’s office after getting nod from the Chief Minister has forwarded the list to the Chief Secretary office for further action. “The government is likely to take action in this regard in next couple of days.” government sources said.
Sources said that the reason for coming out strongly against the corrupt is that government wants to dispel the notion that action is being taken only against few officials. “The CM has also instructed that no one would be allowed to interfere in the screening process, and political influence would not be allowed to be misused to protect the corrupt,” source said while quoting CM has said.
Sources said that around 50 tainted officials including senior civil officers are likely to face action.
PDP senior leader and Hajj and Auquaf Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri when contacted told KNS that Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syeed is serious about the elimination of corruption.
“Sincere efforts are being done to make the best use of available human resources so that the staff is utilized in the best possible way.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelGovernment is not going to tolerate the corrupt officials. I can tell you that there are some top officials in the government’s watch list and their activities are being monitored seriously,” Veeri told KNS.
He however did not confirm whether the government is taking action against more corrupt officials or not.
It is pertinent to mention here that soon after the Mufti-led government took over in March, the government shot a letter to State Vigilance Organization, to prepare a comprehensive list of officers who were involved in ‘corrupt practices’ or have been rendered as ‘dead wood’ to summarily dismiss them from services or suggest other kind of action, whose offence in corruption was minor.
The SVO was asked to prepare a list of corrupt officials to bring transparency in governance.
The SVO submitted a list of 162 tainted officials to the government. On July 1, the government terminated the services of 63 officials of whom 25 were allegedly caught red-handed by the SVO while accepting bribe.
If sources are to be believed, the government has also compiled a list of corrupt police officers who have amassed huge wealth by abusing their positions. “There has been a feedback against number of police officers from different ranks who are involved in corrupt practices and are not performing their duties honestly,” sources said.
They said that the high-level committee for dispensing services mainly includes those officers and officials, who were caught red-handed while accepting and demanding bribe and found guilty of abuse of power during joint verifications conducted by SVO. (KNS)